Integrated automotive horn/light apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for simultaneously operating the horn and light systems of a motorized vehicle is provided. The controller used to operate the systems can be a single controller that operates the horn when a certain range of pressure is applied to the controller and operates the horn and lights systems when a stronger pressure is applied. The system can include a dedicated horn operating system controller independent of the dual function controller to eliminate the need for differing pressures to operate the horn and light systems substantially simultaneously. Also disclosed are apparatuses and methods to coordinate a vehicle braking system with the vehicle horn and light systems to improve the reception of safety and/or emergency warnings.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/008,225 filed Jan. 9, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,003,902,issued Aug. 23, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus forsimultaneously operating and enhancing multiple automotive warningsystems when an operator engages one of the systems. More particularly,the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for sendingcombined audible and visual warning signals when an operator engages anaudible warning device in a vehicle that decelerates rapidly using thebraking system and/or during or following rapid changes in vehiclevelocity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ART

As is commonly known, automotive vehicles, (cars, trucks, vans, SUV's,tractor trailers, buses, etc.), include a horn that can be engaged toproduce audible warnings to the operators of other vehicles and/or topedestrians. Horns work particularly well in rather quiet environments,such as country roadways, where the variety and intensity of sound islimited and relatively subdued. Busy city roads are another matter. Dueto the high level of noise as well as the cacophony of sounds, hornsignals are often hard to hear particularly by those with diminishedhearing. Added to this are the ever advancing automobile sound systemswhich, in conjunction with improved sound proofing technologies used toblock out sounds emanating from outside a vehicle, can severelyattenuate and even block out sound warning signals sufficiently toprevent perception by passengers in third party vehicles.

What is needed and what I have devised is an apparatus and method toprovide a visual warning signal coordinated with the emission of anaudible warning signal to enhance third party recognition to apotentially hazardous situation.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a combined audio/visual warningsignal system is provided that coordinates the horn and light systems ofmotorized vehicle horns and exterior and/or interior lights to provideboth an audible and visible emergency or hazard warning to third partyvehicle drivers and passengers, and pedestrians within the receptionrange of the signals. The system is engaged with a single sourcecontroller positioned in the steering wheel, steering column and/orlever extending from the steering column. In one embodiment, differinglevels of pressure applied to the controller activate the horn systemindividually or the horn system/light system simultaneously. The lightsand horn can be directly connected via hardwire to the controller.Alternatively, the lights and horn can be connected to a centralprocessing system that engages the lights and horn when a signal isreceived from the controller.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the horn and lights arewirelessly connected, e.g., via radio frequency communication, to eitherthe controller or an intermediate central processing system. The lightsengaged by the system can vary to include one or more sets of vehiclelights to adjust the intensity of the visual emission and/or to complywith any local, state and/or federal regulations. Additionally, thelights may be programmed to flash during selected intervals to convey aspecific type of warning.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a disengagement controlleris provided to enable a vehicle operator to disengage the combinedhorn/light system so the horn function can be operated independent ofthe lights. The disengagement controller can be positioned on thesteering wheel, on the steering column, on a lever projecting from thesteering column, on the vehicle dash board, on a vehicle door, or on anycenter console, or at any location ergonomically convenient to thevehicle operator.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, to enable a vehicle operator toengage the horn without the lights, an auxiliary control is providedwithin or without the field of the combined system controller. Theauxiliary control can be positioned on the steering wheel, steeringcolumn or on a lever projecting from the steering column.

In a still further aspect of the disclosure, the vehicle horn and lightsystems are secondarily controlled in a combined manner by operation ofthe vehicle's braking system. The apparatus may include controlparameters involving any application of the braking system and/or may beconfigured to operate the horn and light systems, individually orcombined, with the application of specific brake-application pressureranges and/or defined “rapid” application of the braking system.

In a yet further aspect of the disclosure, the light component of thecombined horn/light warning signal may be adjusted for brightness toaccommodate different natural lighting conditions. Darker conditions maybe used to limit warning flashes to low beam intensity while lighterconditions may be used to employ high beam intensity to ensure maximumvisual perception by third party vehicle occupants and pedestrians inthe warning signal reception area.

In another aspect of the disclosure, sudden, rapid changes in vehiclevelocity may be used to trigger combined horn/light operation to alertsurrounding vehicles and/or pedestrians of the vehicle's sudden changein velocity. These and other aspects of the disclosure will becomeapparent from a review of the appended drawings and the detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a steering wheel and horn controller assemblyaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a steering wheel and horn controller assemblyaccording to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a steering wheel and horn controller assemblyaccording to a further embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a steering wheel and horn controller barassembly according to a yet further embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4A is a side view of a steering wheel column and steering wheelassembly with a horn lever extending from the steering wheel columnaccording to yet another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a side view of a steering wheel column and steering wheelassembly with a horn control button according to a still furtherembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of an automotive dash board with horn/lightcombined controller de-select switch with steering wheel and steeringwheel column in phantom according to yet another embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic of a horn/light controller according to oneembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic of a horn/light controller according to anotheraccording to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic of a horn/light controller according to afurther embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8A shows a top view of the horn/light controller shown in FIG. 8with contacts in phantom according to the further embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller according to one embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic of a combined horn/multiple light operatingsystem with a central processing controller according to anotherembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha light deselect switch according to a further embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller connected to a vehicle braking systemaccording to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller connected to a vehicle braking systemand relays according to a different embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller connected to a vehicle braking systemand pressure/force detector according to another embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 15 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller connected to a vehicle braking system, apressure/force detector and relays according to another embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 16 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller connected to a vehicle braking systemand brake pedal speed sensor according to another embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 17 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller connected to a vehicle braking system,brake pedal speed sensor and relays according to another embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 18 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller connected to a vehicle braking systemand accelerometer according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 19 shows a schematic of a combined horn/light operating system witha central processing controller connected to a vehicle braking system,accelerometer and relays according to another embodiment of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Referring to the drawings and, in particular, FIG. 1, one aspect of thepresent disclosure provides a vehicle steering wheel and combinedhorn/light controller assembly for a vehicle shown generally asreference numeral 10. Assembly 10 includes a steering wheel 12 connectedto a steering wheel center spoke 14. Situated in the approximate centerof spoke 14 is a dual horn/light controller shown generally as 16.Controller 16 includes horn controller 18 and a combination horn/lightcontroller 20. Horn controller 18 enables the user to select the hornfunction only. Combination horn/light controller 20 allows simultaneousoperation of both the horn and the vehicle lights.

Referring to FIG. 2, another embodiment of a steering wheel andhorn/light controller assembly is shown generally at 10′. It should beunderstood that elements referenced with primed numbers in oneembodiment correspond to elements in other embodiments with the sameunprimed or differently primed numbers. Assembly 10 has a steering wheel12′ and a center spoke 14′ that includes two dual horn/light controllers16′ positioned at opposing lateral ends of spoke 14′ adjacent to or inclose proximity to the juncture of spoke 14′ and steering wheel 12′ toprovide ease of access during vehicle operation. Like the priorembodiment, controller 16′ has a horn controller 18′ and a horn/lightcontroller 20′ positioned centrally within an inner wall of horncontroller 18′.

Horn controller 18′ enables a vehicle operator to operate the hornwithout simultaneous light operation. Horn/light controller 20′ enablesthe operator to operate the horn and lights with a single controller.Either lateral controller 16 can be engaged individually or inconjunction with the other lateral controller to operate the horn/lightsystems.

Referring to FIG. 3, another embodiment of the steering wheel andhorn/light controller assembly is shown generally at 10″. Assembly 10″includes a steering wheel 12″ and a hub 14″ connected to steering wheel12″ with a plurality of steering wheel spokes 22″. A pair of dualhorn/light controllers 16″ is positioned on an inner radial edge ofsteering wheel 12″ at approximately the 9:00 and 3:00 positions when thesteering wheel is positioned for straight travel. The location of thedual controllers can be placed at different locations on the steeringwheel without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

Controllers 16″ include a horn controller 18″ and a horn/lightcontroller 20″ that perform the same functions as the similar elementsshown in FIG. 2. The primary difference from the embodiment shown inFIG. 2 is that the controllers are situated to provide maximum ease ofaccess for the vehicle operator.

Referring to FIG. 4, an alternative embodiment of the steering wheel andhorn/light controller assembly is shown generally as 10′″. Assembly 10′″includes a steering wheel 12′″ having a hub 14′″ attached to wheel 12′″via a plurality of spokes 22′″. A horn/light control bar 16′″ isattached to steering wheel 12′″ to allow simultaneous operation of thehorn and light systems of the vehicle. Bar 16′″ imparts the samefunction as horn/light controller 20″ and 20′ described with theprevious embodiments of the assembly. The horn/light function is engagedby depressing the bar forward and down relative to steering wheel 12′″.In an alternate embodiment, a second bar can be incorporated intosteering wheel 12′″ to enable an operator to operate the hornindependent of the vehicle light system.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a steering column/steering wheel assembly is showngenerally as 30 with a steering wheel 32 connected to a steering column34 with a horn/light control lever 36 attached to column 34. Lever 36 isconfigured to provide a vehicle operator with the ability to sound anaudible alarm simultaneously with the operation of the vehicle lightsystem. Lever 36 can be configured to engage the horn/light systems viamovement in either the forward or rearward directions.

Referring to FIG. 4B, another embodiment of the steering column/steeringwheel assembly is shown generally at 30′. In this embodiment, a buttoncontroller 36′ is substituted for the lever controller 36 of theprevious embodiment. Operation of the horn/light system is performed bydepressing button controller 36′. Alternatively, button controller 36′can be configured with a lock feature, such as those well known in theart for securing a hazard signal, to allow the operator to lockcontroller 36′ in an operational position to provide a sustainedaudible/visual signal.

Referring to FIGS. 5-7 and 11, in another aspect of the disclosure, adual action horn/light controller 48 enables a vehicle operator toengage the horn/light systems of the vehicle with a single control. Asshown in FIGS. 5 and 7, dual horn/light activation is accomplished bypressing a single controller 48. In this embodiment, the dual activationof the horn and light systems is independent of the amount of pressureapplied to controller 48.

Referring to FIG. 7, by depressing controller 48 with a pressure 200,contact is made between an upper contact 62′ and a lower contact 60′.The pressure needed to activate controller 48 can be set at anythinggreater than 0 lbs/in² by using flexible materials for thespoke/controller and/or spring and/or recoil elements about thecontacts. Contacts 60 and 62′ are enclosed in a cavity formed by anupper spoke segment 14 a and a lower spoke segment 14 b. By touching thecontacts together, a circuit is completed which sends an electricalsignal via light lines 72 to light relay 66 a. The signal is then sentvia light relay lines 80 to light(s) 82. Substantially simultaneous withthe transmission of an electrical signal to light(s) 82, a secondelectrical signal is sent to horn relay 66 via horn lines 64. The secondelectrical signal is then sent via horn relay lines 76 to horn 78. Itshould be understood that with respect to light relay 66 a at least oneadditional pair of lines connects the conventional light controls to therelay.

With respect to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, to enable adriver to disconnect the light function from the horn function, acontrol switch 50 is positioned in electrical communication betweencontroller 48 and light relay 66 a. The “on” setting may be configuredto disconnect light relay 66 a from controller 48 or connect the twoelements.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a dual action controller 48 engageseither the horn system independent of the light system or both the hornand light systems substantially simultaneously by varying the pressureapplied to the controller. The functionality is achieved byincorporating two sets of contacts with one set of contacts superposedabout the other set or positioned above the other set.

As shown in FIG. 6, an upper horn contact 70 is positioned above a lowerhorn contact 68. Positioned below lower horn contact 68 is an upperlight contact 62. Positioned below upper light contact 62 is lower lightcontact 60. The application of a relatively light pressure, for example,less than 5 lbs/in², causes the horn contacts to engage and complete anelectrical circuit, which sends an electrical signal to relay 66, and onto horn 78 without engaging the light system. The application of a moreforceful pressure, in this illustrative example, 5 lbs/in² or greater,causes both contact systems to engage thereby activating both the hornand light systems.

It should be understood that the pressure range to engage the hornsystem without the light system can be set to any desired range ofpressure values. The pressure needed to engage both the horn and lightsystems can also be set to any predetermined range as long as thepressure range is greater than the pressure range set to operate thehorn system alone. For example, if the horn system pressure range is setfrom about 1 lb/in² to about 10 lb/in², the combination horn/lightsystem pressure range should start at a value greater than 10 lb/in².

The pressure differential between the upper limit of the horn operationpressure range and the lower limit of the horn/light operation pressurerange should be sufficiently large to enable a vehicle operator a widelatitude of pressure choices to activate the desired horn system orhorn/light system without having to apply a precise pressure. Forexample, the pressure differential separating the two ranges can be fromabout 1 lb/in² to about 10 lb/in². Of course, any pressure differentialless than or greater than this exemplary range is considered to bewithin the scope of the appended claims, and consistent with the scopeand spirit of this disclosure.

In another aspect of the disclosure, two different controllers areemployed to allow variability and selectivity in the warning devicesimplemented to impart a warning signal without the need to apply aspecific pressure force, or a pressure force within a pressure range. Asshown in FIGS. 8 and 8A, a central controller 118 provides the abilityto activate both the horn and the light systems with a singlecontroller. A top light contact 108 is positioned below centralcontroller 118 and above bottom light contact 110. Situated below bottomlight contact 110 is upper horn contact 102. Upper horn contact 102 isformed as a disk-like structure with a circular extension projectingupwardly around the light contacts. Positioned directly above thecircular extension is a dedicated horn controller 116 that at leastpartially surrounds central controller 118. Positioned directly belowupper horn contact 102 is lower horn contact 100.

To activate both the horn and light systems, a force 122 is applieddirectly or indirectly to central controller 118, which causes the lightcontacts to touch and complete a circuit that sends an electrical signalvia light lines 112 ultimately to light 114. Force 122 also causes thehorn contacts to engage and send an electrical signal via horn lines 104ultimately to horn 106. Either system can incorporate relays aspreviously described or a central processing system to relay the signalsto the warning systems.

To activate the horn independent of the lights, a second force 120 isapplied to dedicated horn controller 116, the downward force of whichcauses horn contacts 100 and 102 to engage and send a signal to horn114. This system can also incorporate one or more relays as previouslydescribed or a central processing system to relay the signal to the hornsystem.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a dual horn/light operating system is shown inwhich controller 48 is connected via hard wire or wirelessly with one ormore RF or infra-red transmitters and one or more RF or infraredreceivers to a central processing unit or controller 152. Centralprocessing controller receives the signal from controller 48 andprocesses it according to preconfigured programming to send a desiredsignal to the horn and light systems to emit the desired warning signal.As is well known in the art, central processing controller 152 can beprogrammed to operate a specific light 82 and/or multiple lights 82, 84,and 86 as shown in FIG. 10. Controller 152 may also be programmed toactivate the light system to emit pulsing light flashes in somepre-determined pattern to impart a specific type of warning signal(s).

In another aspect of the disclosure, in place of controller 48, a sensorcan be imbedded in either the steering wheel, steering column and/orsteering wheel spoke(s) to detect a force being exerted on a locationabove the sensor in the form of downward pressure derived from anoccupant of the vehicle. The sensor may be calibrated to detect aspecific range of force representative of the downward pressure sensedor may be configured to detect any pressure above a threshold level,which may be as low as any force slightly above 0 lbs./in.².

In a further aspect of the disclosure, application of a vehicle'sbraking system causes the vehicle horn and light system to operatesimultaneously either without additional input from the driver, or withthe simultaneous or subsequent manual operation of the horn system bythe driver. In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 12, a brake pedal 160,when depressed with a force greater than 0 lbs./in.², results in asignal being sent via hard wire or wirelessly with one or more RF orinfra-red transmitters and one or more RF or infrared receivers tocentral processing unit or controller 152. Controller 152 sends a signalto a switch 162 that controls whether horn/light controller 16 (or anyof the horn/light controller embodiments disclosed herein), operates thehorn exclusively, or the lights and horn simultaneously. Switch 162 ispositioned between horn/light controller 48 and light(s) 82, or, iflight relay 66 a is used, between controller 16 and light relay 66 a(FIG. 13).

In an open position, switch 162 does not connect controller 16 withlight(s) 82 and solely operates the horn system. In a closed position,switch 162 operates the horn and light systems simultaneously. In thisembodiment, the vehicle operator must manually activate horn/lightcontroller 48 to engage the horn and light systems when the brake systemis activated.

In an alternate embodiment shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, operation of brakepedal 160 results in the substantially simultaneous operation of thecombined horn and lights systems to give the desired warning signals toindividuals within the signals reception area. In this embodiment, brakepedal 160 is connected to controller 152 via hard wire or wirelesslywith one or more RF or infra-red transmitters and one or more RF orinfrared receivers Controller 152 is connected directly to the horn andlight systems, or indirectly via horn and light system relays asdisclosed herein.

When brake pedal 160 is depressed with greater than 0 lbs./in.² offorce, a signal is sent to controller 152 via a pressure/force detector161 connected to brake pedal 160 to operate the horn and light systemsto create warning signals. As with other aspects of the disclosure,controller 152 may be programmed to activate the light system to emitpulsing light flashes in some pre-determined pattern to impart aspecific type of warning signal(s). The duration and intensity of thewarning signals may be programmed into controller 152. Removal of theforce applied to brake pedal 160 sends a signal to controller 152 tocease operation of the horn and light systems.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a predetermined force range forbrake pedal operation is implemented to control simultaneous operationof the horn and light systems with the brake system. This alternativeembodiment serves the purpose of preventing engagement of the horn andlight systems when brake activation is used during normal vehicleoperation when no potential danger situations are presented. Forexample, the operation of the braking system to stop at a stop sign ortraffic signal may not warrant operation of the horn/light systemswithout the presence of a dangerous condition, such as the presence ofanother vehicle whose operator appears to be ignoring, or does notperceive a red traffic signal.

To ensure undesired operation of the horn/light systems, a range of fromabout 100 lbs./in.² to about 200 lbs./in.² may be set as the brake pedalforce range in which operation of brake pedal 160 results in a signalbeing sent to controller 152 to substantially simultaneously operate thehorn and light systems. As should be well understood in the art, theforce range may be set to any desirable range that differentiatesbetween a normal driving event versus an emergency event.

In an alternative embodiment, brake activation is not coupled withhorn/light activation, but establishes a threshold value to implementthe combination horn/light system function with a singlemanually-operated controller. Once the brake pedal force range isachieved, a signal is sent to controller 152 which, in turn, activatesthe combination horn/light system controller 48. If the brake activationpressure range is not achieved, controller 48 is not activated bycontroller 152.

In a further aspect of the disclosure as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, thespeed at which brake pedal 160 is depressed determines whether the hornand/or light systems are activated substantially simultaneously withactivation of the vehicle brake system. In this embodiment, apredetermined time interval is selected to substantially simultaneouslyactivate the horn and/or light systems when brake activation in the formof brake pedal depression falls within the selected time interval. Aquickly depressed brake pedal signifies a potential emergency situation.By setting a brake depression time interval that correlates with apotential emergency situation, activation of the horn and/or lightsystems substantially simultaneous with the brake system activation willlimit the instances in which the horn and/or light systems are engagedto issue warning signals to individuals in the signal receiving area.

In this embodiment, a brake pedal speed sensor 164 is connected to brakepedal 160. Sensor 164 measures the time interval to depress brake pedal160 from a starting non-activated position to a selected activationposition, which may or may not be full depression of the pedal. Thesensed time interval is sent via hard wire, or wirelessly as disclosedherein, as a signal to controller 152 which compares the sensed timeinterval to a preselected horn/light activation time interval range. Ifthe registered time interval falls within the preselected range,controller 152 sends an activation signal directly or via relay asdisclosed herein to the horn and/or light systems to issue warningsignals. In one embodiment, the time interval is set from about 0seconds to about 0.2 seconds. In an alternative embodiment, controller152 sends a signal to activate horn/light controller 16 for manualoperation of the combined horn/light systems.

In a still further aspect of the disclosure as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19,the speed at which a vehicle travels causes controller 152 tosubstantially simultaneously activate either or both the horn and lightsystems when the braking system is activated. To monitor vehicle speed,an accelerometer 166 is incorporated into the vehicle. Accelerometer 166provides the necessary data to determine the speed of the vehicle. Thedata is fed to controller 152 where it is processed to determine vehiclespeed. When a preselected threshold speed is detected, controller 152 isprogrammed to operate the horn and/or light systems substantiallysimultaneously when the brake pedal is depressed, or when there is asudden deceleration or sudden acceleration event that may result from anevasive maneuver to avoid a vehicle accident.

In this embodiment, a threshold speed, e.g., 50 m.p.h. is preselected asa vehicle speed that will activate automated coordination of thevehicle's horn and/or light systems with the vehicle's braking and/oracceleration systems when activated. By preprogramming controller 152 atthe preselected speed, once a vehicle reaches the selected speed,controller 152 sends an activation signal directly or via relay asdisclosed herein to the horn and/or light systems to issue warningsignals.

In a further embodiment, rather than coordinate horn and/or light systemactivation with brake and/or acceleration system activation, horn/lightcontroller 16 (and disclosed variants thereof), simultaneously controlsthe horn and light systems as described herein when the preselectedspeed threshold is reached. In this embodiment, accelerometer 166 sendsvehicle speed data to controller 152. If the vehicle's detected speedreaches the preselected threshold, controller 152 sends a signal to aswitch 168 that activates control of light system 82 via horn/lightcontroller 16 (and disclosed variants of horn controller 18). With thisactivation, it should be understood that control of light system 82 withthe resident conventional light controller remains effective.Alternatively, the combination may be configured to deactivate theconventional light system controller when the combination horn/lightcontroller is activated.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, the ambient lighting conditionsare monitored to determine whether the light system engagement shouldinvolve high beam, low beam or some alternative mix of all the vehicle'slighting systems to impart a warning signal that does not itself createa potentially dangerous situation. At night, use of the high beamflashing may cause temporary blindness of oncoming traffic and causeadditional danger or emergency situations. To prevent this, coordinationof the vehicle light system with the vehicle's braking system may beimplemented to adjust to different ambient light conditions.

In this embodiment, an ambient light detector as commonly known in theart is incorporated into the vehicle to detect ambient lightingconditions. Detected conditions are sent via signal via hardwire orwirelessly to controller 152. Controller 152 is preprogrammed toactivate, directly or indirectly via relay, various vehicle lights inaccordance with preselected light combinations. Activation of thecombination horn/lights controller 16 activates the horn and lightsaccording to the preprogrammed combinations.

It should be understood and apparent that light configurations shown arefor illustrative purposes only and that any combination of lightconfigurations may be possible, including head lights in both high andlow beam settings, fog lights, driving lights, parking lights, reverselights, braking lights, interior lights and dedicated lights included ina vehicle for the specific purpose of operating in conjunction with thevehicle horn system. Redundant sets of lights placed on the rear, sidesand/or front of vehicle may also be included for warning specificpurposes.

It should also be understood and apparent that the lights may be any ofa variety of types including incandescent, halogen, ultra violet,infrared and the like. The lights may be further modified to function asstrobe or flashing lights to make more conspicuous and improvevisibility when a warning signal is being sent. In the event dedicatedwarning lights are incorporated into a vehicle, the lights may befurther distinguished from the conventional lights by being colored witha color selected to be different from the colors used for other vehiclelights like red for brake lights, or emergency lights, such as blue usedon law enforcement vehicles. Color schemes may also be implemented tosignify different types of warnings. For example, a yellow light coulddesignate an approaching hazard while a green light could signifyimminent danger.

The dual horn/light system described herein is intended forimplementation in any vehicle used to carry passengers includingillustratively boats, trains, buses (commercial and school), cars, vans,SUV's and trucks. The system can be implemented for internal warning,such as in a school bus, to ensure children seated in the bus areproperly alerted to any imminent danger

While the present disclosure has been described in connection withseveral embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that many changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly,it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications as come within the true spirit and scope of thedisclosure.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by United States LettersPatents is:
 1. An apparatus for operating a vehicle horn and lightsystem simultaneously comprising: a vehicle steering wheel/steeringcolumn assembly; a vehicle horn system for emitting audible signals; avehicle light system for emitting visual signals; a dual functioncontroller positioned in the vehicle steering wheel/steering columnassembly for simultaneously operating the horn and lights systems; avehicle braking system incorporated into the vehicle and connected tothe dual function controller wherein activation of the braking systemactivates the dual function controller.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising horn contacts situated below the dual functioncontroller that come into contact and operate the horn system whenpressure is applied to the controller.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2further comprising light contacts situated below the horn contacts thatcome into contact when pressure is applied to the controller.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3 further comprising at least one light in the lightsystem wherein the controller operates the at least one light when thecontroller is engaged via pressure.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 furthercomprising a central processing system connected between the controllerand the horn and light systems to process and relay signals from thecontroller to the horn and light systems.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4wherein the controller is wired directly to the horn and light systems.7. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising a relay between thecontroller and horn system.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6 furthercomprising a relay between the controller and light system.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 4 further comprising at least one transmitterconnected to the controller and at least one receiver connected to thehorn and light systems to wirelessly transmit signals from thecontroller to the horn and light systems.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the controller comprises a pair of horn contacts and a pair oflight contacts whereby an electrical signal is sent to the horn systemwhen the horn contacts touch and an electrical signal is sent to thelight system when the light contacts touch.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising a light control switch positioned in the vehicle andpositioned electrically between the controller and the light systemwherein the light control switch disengages the light system fromcontrol of the controller when activated.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising a single function controller positioned on thesteering wheel/steering column assembly for controlling the horn systemindependent of the light system.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 whereinthe controller further comprises a pair of horn contacts and a pair oflight contacts whereby an electrical signal is sent to the horn systemwhen the horn contacts touch and an electrical signal is sent to thelight system when the light contacts touch.
 14. The apparatus of claim13 wherein the single function controller engages the pair of horncontacts when a pressure is applied to the single function controller.15. An apparatus for operating a vehicle horn and light systemsimultaneously comprising: a vehicle steering wheel/steering columnassembly comprising a steering wheel and a steering column connected tothe steering wheel; a vehicle horn system for emitting audible signals;a vehicle light system for emitting visual signals; a dual functioncontroller lever positioned on the steering column for simultaneouslyoperating the horn and lights systems; and, a vehicle braking systemincorporated into the vehicle and connected to the dual functioncontroller wherein activation of the braking system by applying apressure force to the braking system sends a signal to, and activates,the dual function controller, which subsequently and substantiallysimultaneously activates the horn and light systems.
 16. The apparatusof claim 15 wherein the controller lever further comprises a pair ofhorn contacts and a pair of light contacts whereby an electrical signalis sent to the horn system when the horn contacts touch and anelectrical signal is sent to the light system when the light contactstouch.
 17. A method of operating a vehicle horn and light systemsimultaneously comprising the steps of: providing a vehicle steeringwheel/steering column assembly; providing a vehicle horn system foremitting audible signals; providing a vehicle light system for emittingvisual signals; providing a dual function controller positioned in thevehicle steering wheel/steering column assembly for simultaneouslyoperating the horn and lights systems wherein the application of a firstpressure force causes the horn system to engage independent of the lightsystem and wherein the application of a second pressure force greaterthan the first pressure force causes the horn and light systems to beactivated substantially simultaneously; providing a vehicle brakingsystem incorporated into the vehicle and connected to the dual functioncontroller wherein activation of the braking system activates the dualfunction controller; and, applying a pressure force on the brakingsystem to activate the dual function controller to subsequently activatesubstantially simultaneously the horn and light systems.
 18. The methodof claim 17 wherein the first pressure force is from about 0 lbs/in² toabout 5 lbs/in².
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein the second pressureforce is greater than 5 lbs/in².
 20. The method of claim 17 furthercomprising the step of: providing a pair of horn contacts and a pair oflight contacts connected to the controller whereby an electrical signalis sent to the horn system when the horn contacts touch and anelectrical signal is sent to the light system when the light contactstouch, the second pressure force causing the horn and light contacts totouch.